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Costas Philippou
Constantinos "Costas" Philippou (born November 29, 1979) is a Cypriot mixed martial arts fighter. He is currently fighting for the UFC in the Middleweight division. Background Philippou began Boxing in 1994 and had his first fight six months later. A few years later, his best friend and coach encouraged him to move to the United States to become a professional. Costas fought in the Golden Gloves two months after coming to the United States, but lost in the finals at Madison Square Garden by a split decision to Nagy Aguilera. Philippou then turned pro and had three fights, the third being featured on ESPN. Costas transitioned to Mixed martial arts after disputes with his manager and coach. MMA career Philippou made his professional MMA debut in May 2008 for the Ring of Combat promotion, losing to fellow future UFC fighter Ricardo Romero by split decision. However, he subsequently amassed a record of 7 wins, 1 loss and 1 no contest within that promotion. Philippou had previously trained with the Serra-Longo fight team, but as of May 30, 2013 he decided to switch camps to Bellmore Kickboxing Academy. According to Matt Serra, Philippou left the team on good terms. ''The Ultimate Fighter 11'' Philippou first made his appearance in the UFC on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz. However, he never made it as part of the cast to move into the house after losing to Joseph Henle via submission in the opening elimination bout. Ultimate Fighting Championship Philippou got a second chance in the UFC after stepping in as a late replacement for Dan Miller, who was moved up the card to face Nate Marquardt, facing Nick Catone at UFC 128 in a catchweight bout of 195 pounds. He lost by unanimous decision. Philippou was expected to face BJJ Black Belt Rafael Natal on August 6, 2011 at UFC 133, replacing an injured Riki Fukuda. However, an injury forced Alessio Sakara out of his main card bout against Jorge Rivera, and Philippou was pulled from his bout with Natal and named as Sakara's replacement against Rivera. Philippou won the fight via split decision, earning his first UFC victory. At UFC 140 on December 10, 2011, Philippou faced Jared Hamman in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Philippou got a knockout victory in the first round. He then fought TUF 11 winner Court McGee at UFC on FX 2 on March 3, 2012. He won the fight via unanimous decision in a back-and-forth battle. Philippou followed up with a unanimous decision win over Riki Fukuda at UFC 148 on July 7, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Philippou was expected to face Nick Ring on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154 however, the fight was cancelled on the day of the event as Ring fell ill. Philippou replaced his injured training partner Chris Weidman against Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 on December 29, 2012. Philippou was victorious with a third round TKO stoppage. Philippou was expected to face Ronaldo Souza on May 18, 2013 at UFC on FX 8. However, Philippou pulled out of the bout in early May, citing a cut above his eye, and was replaced by Chris Camozzi. He next faced French fighter Francis Carmont in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at UFC 165. Philippou was neutralized by Carmont's grappling offense and lost a unanimous decision.http://www.ufc.com/event/UFC165 The following January, Philippou returned to face former Strikeforce Middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold at UFC Fight Night 35. He was finished due to kicks to the midsection at 2:31 in round 1. The loss to Rockhold marked his second loss in a row. Philippou is now expected to fight former Strikeforce Middleweight contender Lorenz Larkin at UFC Fight Night 40 on May 10, 2014. Mixed martial arts record References External links * *Official UFC Profile Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Middleweight mixed martial artists